Looking for Alcohol Treatment Information?

You can receive independent, expert advice on alcohol rehabilitation and rehab centres by telephoning DryOutNow.com on 0845 370 0203.

The most important consideration in choosing a rehab centre is to match the individual to the rehab centre that is most likely to lead to a successful outcome.

DryOutNow.com can provide an assessment of all your needs and a recommendation regarding the most effective rehab placement for you, given your particular circumstances. We can provide fast, immediate access to alcohol treatment.

Alcohol Treatment Research: Federal anti drug ad campaign may have had adverse effects

New research finds that a national campaign's anti-drug TV ads failed to convince young children and teenagers to stay away from marijuana and actually might have encouraged some to try smoking pot.

In their 1999 to 2004 incarnation, the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign's TV ads "either had no effects on kids or possibly had a boomerang effect," said Robert Hornik, lead author of a new study and professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Congress created the anti-drug campaign in the late 1990s and gave almost $1 billion to it through 2004, according to the study. The taxpayer-funded campaign continues to create anti-drug advertising today.

The study appears online and in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

The researchers surveyed 8,117 children from 1999 to 2001 and followed up with many of them over the next several years. The children were nine to18 years old when they were first recruited for the study, the same ages as the group targeted by the campaign's TV ads.

Ninety-four percent of the kids reported seeing two to three of the anti-drug ads per week. But seeing the ads didn't reduce the likelihood that the children used marijuana. And it appeared that the ads possibly raised the risk that kids would be willing to try marijuana.

Of participants ages 12 to18 who reported seeing four or fewer ads from the campaign a month, 82 percent later reported that they "definitely" had no plans to smoke marijuana. The percentage fell to 78 percent among those who said they saw 12 or more ads a month.

The researchers adjusted the numbers to account for factors that may have affected the children's exposure to anti-drug advertising.

"Our basic hypothesis is that the more kids saw these ads, the more they came to believe that lots of other kids were using marijuana," Hornik said. "And the more they came to believe that other kids were using marijuana, the more they became more interested in using it themselves."

Jennifer de Vallance, a spokeswoman for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, said the new study is "old news."

"The campaign has made major changes to improve its effectiveness and, in fact, drug use among teens has dropped steadily in nearly every category since 2001," she said.

Among other things, she said, the campaign has adjusted the messages of its advertising and is doing a better job of both analysing ads before they air and evaluating their effectiveness afterward.

Reference

Hornik et al. Effects of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign on Youths', American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2007.125849

DryOutNow.com provides highly practical help for people with alcohol problems, their friends and relatives. DryOutNow.com also provides free resources for healthcare professionals such as medical information and alcohol treatment guidelines.

Other Alcohol Treatment Research Articles

• Poor Alcohol Regulation could cost up to 250,000 lives, doctors predict.
• Technology improves treatment options for drug users
• Department promoting early substance use screening process
• Alcohol tax increases deter drinking
• DrugScope welcomes report on 'neglected issue' of prescription and over-the-counter medication depen
• DrugScope responds to NTA figures on young people in treatment for substance misuse
• Concerns over trends in Ketamine use
• Try science when 'just saying no' isn't enough
• More action needed to tackle alcohol misuse, says BMA
• Alkermes initiates clinical trial for ALKS 33, a novel oral molecule with potential benefits in addi
• Genetic markers identified for alcohol response in UCSF Gallo study
• NIDA Monitoring the Future Survey, Results published
• Technology can help addicts trying to quit
• Study assesses success of anti meth adverts
• All patients should be asked about alcohol and drug abuse, says The American College of Obstetrician
• Researchers must tap into the language of intoxication
• Report points to lack of public awareness of health guidelines
• Reward stress link points to new targets for treating addiction
• SAMHSA releases new data on drug related hospital emergency department visits
• National rates of co occurring substance use and mental disorders call for better integration of men

Latest Alcohol Policy Related Articles

• Leeds counts 438GBP million economic and social cost of alcohol-related problems
• Pablo and FRANK - the new cocaine campaign
• Cannabis upgraded to Class B drug
• DrugScope welcomes report on 'neglected issue' of prescription and over-the-counter medication depen
• Tougher health and safety law demands tougher drugs policies, says drug testing company
• Time's up for irresponsible drink deals
• More action needed to tackle alcohol misuse, says BMA
• New report reveals that five million people participate in self help groups each year
• Make Scotlands roads safer, reduce drink driving limits, says BMA Scotland
• Study will seek to break cycle of chemical dependence and incarceration
• More advice on alcohol and healthy living from UK Department of Health
• Working towards recovery, Getting problem drug users into jobs, UKDPC report released
• More support needed for employers to hire addicts, says research
• Study shows link between number of alcohol retailers and youth injuries
• European project to study relationship between ADHD and substance abuse
• Two few treatments centres says former government adviser
• BMA Scotland recently published an action plan to tackle alcohol misuse
• WHO to hold public hearing on ways of reducing the harmful use of alcohol
• Public policy measures on alcohol price and availability would be more effective than clinical treat
• Licensing act could be affecting alcohol-related hospital admissions